Strategy

Indianapolis -- Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America launched a national campaign on Monday calling on Kroger Co. to prohibit the open carry of guns in its supermarkets. The gun control advocacy group was founded in response to the Sandy Hook school shooting and has partnered with billionaires Michael Bloomberg and Warren Buffett.

The Moms Demand Action campaign, which includes a petition to Kroger, follows similar actions aimed at Target, Chipotle, Sonic, Chii’s and Jack in the Box.

Plug and Play helps bring together retailers and startups who offer specific technology and expertise that can relieve their pain points. In each issue of our Customer Disruption e-newsletter, we will provide you a brief Q&A with the CEO of a Plug and Play startup, explaining how their company assists retailers in succeeding in today’s disruptive customer environment.

This week’s inaugural CEO Corner features three questions with Rich Wagner, CEO of Prevedere.

What does your company do?

Indianapolis -- Mall owner Simon and payment solution-provider Blackhawk Network have teamed up to offer an enhanced Visa Simon Giftcard at select Simon malls, Premium Outlets and Mills, and online at Simongiftcard.com.

For the first time, the Simon Giftcard will also be made available outside Simon centers through Blackhawk's participating network of grocery stores and other third-party locations.

Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, has appointed John Lewis as global president and Karen Fichuk as president, North America. Both executive leaders are based in Schaumburg, Illinois.

Boston -- Wayfair filed its paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday to raise as much as $350 million on the public market.

The Boston-based online homegoods retailer posted a loss last year of $15.5 million, and the loss was $51.4 million in the last six months. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Citigroup are leading up the underwriting for the IPO, along with Allen & Co., Pacific Crest Securities, Piper Jaffray, Wells Fargo Securities, Canaccord Genuity, Cowen and Co., and Raymond James.

New York -- Aeropostale announced that Julian R. Geiger has rejoined the company as CEO, effective immediately. He succeeds Thomas P. Johnson, a former Brooks Brother executive who was appointed to the top spot at Aeropostale after Geiger left his CEO post in 2010.

In 2011, Geiger was named president and CEO of Crumbs Bake Shop. He resigned from Crumbs at the end of December 2013, and rejoined the Aeropostale board in May. (Crumbs closed all its stores in July 2014.)

Dollar General bid $78.50 for Family Dollar Monday morning in a $9.7 billion deal that exceeds the $74.50 a share Dollar Tree offered for Family Dollar on July 28.

The deal would create a small format powerhouse with nearly 20,000 stores in 46 states and sales of more than $28 billion.

Long Island City, N.Y. -- Steve Madden has completed the acquisition of privately held Dolce Vita Holdings Inc., which specializes in the design, sourcing and sale of branded and private label footwear. The acquisition was completed for $60.3 million.